The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a highly energy dense, rechargeable electrochemical cell for use in a metal-air battery and, more particularly, to a highly energy dense electrochemical cell that includes a metal anode that is combined with a liquid electrolyte and that is configured to operate at high temperatures.
At least some known high temperature metal-air (“HTMA”) batteries have been developed for use with electrical power systems having substantial energy density requirements. However, such known HTMA batteries may not be well suited to such applications, because these batteries may not be entitled to very high energy densities, such as, for example, energy densities close or exceeding one-thousand watt-hours/kilogram (Wh/Kg) at cell level.
Some of these known HTMA batteries utilize a molten carbonate electrolyte, while others incorporate a ceramic electrolyte for use as a separator between the anode and the cathode, and/or as an oxide conductor within the anode. HTMA batteries incorporating a molten carbonate electrolyte may suffer from self-discharge and may be limited to a narrow voltage window due to electrochemical instability of the carbonate anion. HTMA batteries incorporating a ceramic electrolyte may be limited to metals in liquid state at the battery operation temperature. This circumstance may afford anode compositions having relatively low energy densities and/or slow kinetics of recharge.